This invention relates generally to dishwashers and, more particularly to racks for dishwashers.
At least some known dishwashers include a cabinet that has an access door hinged at its lower end and is pivotable to open outwardly from the cabinet. The cabinet includes a wash chamber, and lower and upper racks are vertically mounted within the wash chamber.
The upper racks are slidably coupled to the cabinet and as such, are inwardly and outwardly moveable with respect to the cabinet along a fixed line of movement. More specifically, the upper racks are attached to rollers which are positioned within drawer guides mounted within the cabinet. The drawer guides define the direction of movement for the rack and also limit an amount of lateral orientation of the rack during its movement. If the rack is skewed with respect to the cabinet, the rack may bind against the drawer guides during movement. The drawer guides limit a degree of skew the rack may have with respect to the cabinet during movement of the rack.
The drawer guides also define a clearance between the rollers and the guides to facilitate free movement of the rollers. These clearances, however, may also cause looseness between the rollers and the drawer guide, and thus, may actually facilitate the rack becoming skewed during the movement. When the rack becomes skewed, the rollers may become misaligned with the drawer guide, and a relatively tight frictional drag induced between the rollers and the drawer guide may cause the rack to bind in its relative position. Such misalignment may also cause an increase in an amount of effort required to move the rack.
Additionally, in some known dishwashing machines, the rollers are fabricated from plastic and the drawer guides are formed from rolled steel. Sharp steel edges that may have been created when the drawer guides were formed from rolled steel may catch on the rollers. Binding between the rollers and these sharp steel edges may cause an increase in the amount of effort required to move the rack and may damage the rollers.
In one aspect, a rack assembly for a dishwasher is provided. The rack assembly has a centerline extending from a front of the dishwasher to a rear of the dishwasher. The rack assembly includes a rack, a roller assembly, and a mounting system. The rack has a front edge and a rear edge connected by a right side edge and a left side edge. The rack also has a centerline extending from the rack front edge to the rack rear edge. The roller assembly rotatably couples the rack to the dishwasher such that the rack is slidably moveable with respect to the dishwasher. The mounting system is coupled to the rack and slidably coupled to the roller assembly. The mounting system is configured to remain coupled to the roller assembly during movement of the rack when the rack centerline is skewed relative to the rack assembly centerline.
In another aspect, a dishwasher including a cabinet, a tub, a guide assembly, and at least one rack assembly is provided. The cabinet includes an access door having an upper end and a lower end. The lower end is hinged such that the door pivots on a substantially horizontal axis to open outwardly from the cabinet. The tub is positioned within the cabinet and forms a wash chamber. The tub includes right and left sidewalls. The guide assembly is secured to the right and left sidewalls of the tub. At least one rack assembly is positioned within the wash chamber and is moveable relative to the tub. The rack assembly has a centerline extending from a front of the dishwasher to a rear of the dishwasher. The rack assembly includes a rack, a roller assembly, and a mounting system. The rack has a front edge, a rear edge, a right side edge, a left side edge, and a centerline. The rack front and rear edges are connected by the rack left and right side edges. The rack right side edge is adjacent to the right tub sidewall and the rack left side edge is adjacent to the left tub sidewall. The rack has a centerline extending from the rack front edge to the rack rear edge. The roller assembly rotatably couples the rack to the guide assembly such that the rack is slidably moveable with respect to the wash chamber. The mounting system is coupled to the rack and slidably coupled to the roller assembly. The mounting system is configured to remain coupled to the roller assembly during movement of the rack when the rack centerline is skewed relative to the rack assembly centerline.
In another aspect, a method for assembling a rack assembly for a dishwasher is provided. The rack assembly has a centerline extending from a front of the dishwasher to a rear of the dishwasher. The method employs a rack, a roller assembly, and a mounting system. The rack has a front edge and a rear edge connected by a right side edge and a left side edge. The rack also has a centerline extending from the rack front edge to the rack rear edge. The roller assembly rotatably couples the rack to the dishwasher such that the rack is slidably moveable with respect to the dishwasher. The method includes the steps of providing the rack, coupling the roller assembly to the rack, coupling the mounting system to the rack and to the roller assembly, and rotatably coupling the roller assembly to the dishwasher such that the rack is moveable with respect to the dishwasher and such that the mounting system remains slidably coupled to the roller assembly during movement of the rack when the rack centerline is skewed relative to the rack assembly centerline.